1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wakeboard, more specifically, the invention relates to a motorized wakeboard.
2. Description of the Related Art
The invention is a non-traditional personal watercraft defying standard categorization.
Until now, those who enjoy riding certain watercrafts, commonly known as boards, in particular the boards that have the ability to jump, were able to: windsurf (also known as sailboarding) and wakeboard. Windsurfing is a form of surfing propelled by wind that applies a force to a sail. Windsurfer uses waves as ramps to jump above water surface and then uses the sail like a wing to control and to extend the jump.
Wakeboarding is a water sport in which a rider negotiates waves and wakes (waves created by boat) behind a powerful towing boat and executes controlled jumps that are the main attraction of the sport of wakeboarding. The wakeboard rider controls and executes jumps by skillfully using and coordinating both the hydrodynamic forces present on the bottom and side surfaces of a wakeboard and fins as well as by holding on to a towing rope that is attached to the towing boat.
A new type of board is gaining popularity: a kiteboard. Kiteboarding is similar in concept to windsurfing (sailboarding) but it utilizes a kite to pull rider along surface of water and into the air during jumps. Again, the main attraction of this sport is the ability to perform long and controlled jumps above water.
The windsurf board, kiteboard and other boards that use the forces of nature to propel them, have the disadvantage of being dependant on the right weather conditions. In most locations in the world, there are a very limited number of days a year that users are able to enjoy those sports. The wakeboard is not dependent on weather conditions, but its disadvantage is the requirement for a boat to pull the wakeboarder and at least one additional person to operate such boat.
Applicants have created several types of motorized boards for riding on water (further referred to as motorized boards) to free their users from the dependency on weather or other people and equipment. All those motorized boards, however, were created to simulate surfboards and allow users to enjoy the sport of surfing in the absence of waves. Surfing does not include and is not capable of jumping above water surface and, therefore, these motorized surfboards did not address the issues related to jumping. Many of these motorized boards are not capable of achieving the high speeds necessary to initiate jumps above water surface. The others that are capable of operating at high speed have a high moment of rotational inertia preventing riders from controlling their craft during the course of jumping. The controlled maneuvers of a board during jumping are the main attraction of jumping. Furthermore, this lack of the ability to control a craft after the craft becomes airborne is extremely hazardous for the rider. The most difficult and most dangerous part of jumping is landing. Consequently, to land safely, the rider cannot be at a mercy of the very initial phase of the jump, which is the time when the craft leaves water, but rider must be in control during all of the phases of the jump. All of the motorized boards lack the ability to control them after they become airborne. Any action causes a reaction. When a rider spins an airborne motorized board in one direction, the rider""s body spins in the opposite direction. The larger the rotational moment of inertia of a motorized board the more a rider spins in the opposite direction than the direction of spinning of his board. The placement of the engine in the motorized boards, especially placement engine at a distance from the vertical axis that passes through rider""s center of gravity, is the major contributor to the high moment of inertia of the devices. As explained subsequently, the high moment of rotational inertia of the motorized boards, requires the rider to rotate his body over 120 degrees to rotate the airborne motorized boards just a few degrees. This means that the rider faces the back of the board trying to perform this airborne maneuver. For most humans this is neither practical nor possible.
Also, the moving of a stem up and down is a form of rotation about a horizontal axis that passes through a board, perpendicular to the board longitudinal axis, half way between rider""s feet. Because moving a stem up and down is a form of rotation about this axis, therefore the high rotational moment of inertia of the prior art boards has a detrimental effect on the amount of effort a rider has to exert in order to move a stem up and down (also known as rocking) or to control the angle of attack of the board, both during airborne ascending and descending. The effect of the rotational moment of inertia on ability to control a motorized board is subsequently explained in greater details in Description of Prior Art and in the Summary of Invention.
All motorized boards have engine positioned either in the front part of a motorized board (Bennet), central part of a motorized board (J. Douglas, A. Bloomingdale, R. Montgomery, J. Thomson, Von Smagala-Romanov) or in the very rear part of a board (R. Montgomery, E. Dawson, A. Sameshima, D. Bennet, H. Yoshitake). None of those positions coincide with the vertical axis that passes through rider""s center of gravity, which is the axis that rider rotates his craft around while airborne. The rider""s position depends on the board length. For the length of the standard board, which is between 2.44 and 3.35 m (8 to 11 feet), the rider position is approximately 0.3 to 0.4 of the board length measured from the rear of the board. The references discussed above show the engine in a position that does not offer good riding characteristics on water and offer even worse characteristics during jumping. While some of these references allow for moderately controllable surfing (U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,529 to R. E. Montgomery), none of it will allow executing very difficult and fully controlled jumps above water surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,548,778 to Von Smagala-Romanov discloses a self-propelled surfboard. The shielded propeller is located in a recess in the bottom of the board. The internal combustion engine is mounted within a cavity located centrally of the front and rear ends of the board in front of rider. The propeller is mounted closely behind the engine so as to be generally under the deck portion where a rider would stand. This limits the craft to be operated at low speeds only, commonly known as displacement operation. The reason for this is that at a high speed, also known as planing, only the very rear portion of the bottom is in contact with water, at which time the craft of Von Smagala-Romanov would ingest air instead of water into the jet pump, and would lose the propelling thrust. Von-Smagala-Romanov teaches in lines 23-24 of column 6, that shield around propeller ingests water through apertures in the shroud. This is a very hydrodynamically inefficient way of ingesting water, which further limits the output of his propulsion system.
The Von-Smagala-Romanov reference also teaches in lines 32-35 of column 6, that the craft has a fin located in the path of the water jet stream. This feature has two disadvantages: (a) it creates a very large resistance to the stream of water that floats around it at a very high speed, thus further reduces the propelling thrust, and (b) it loses the ability to work as a stabilizer and steering feature should rider decide to steer the board with body balance. The reason for this is that in order to steer with body balance, the fin must interact with the outside (stationary) water, not with the stream of water generated by the propeller. This stream always meets the fin at the same angle, regardless of riding conditions. In practice this stream of water always meets the fin parallel to the side surfaces of the fin, and effectively shields the fin from interacting with the outside water. Without a movable part of the fin of the Von-Smagala-Romanov craft, the fin cannot be used to aid in steering, especially in steering with body balance. The Von-Smagala-Romanov reference discloses a low speed craft that cannot be made to turn without the use of a rudder, movable jet or other mechanical steering apparatus. Effective steering by body balance is only possible at planing speeds. The Von-Smagala-Romanov reference discloses that the device could be made steerable by incorporating an optional mechanized fin using appropriate cables controlled by rider.
Furthermore, careful study of Von-Smagala-Romanov device indicates that it is a low speed craft incapable of becoming airborne by rocking it or by using a wave or wake as a ramp for jump. Rocking a board is a term used to describe moving the board stem up and down by rider. To become airborne a high planing speed in excess of 32 kilometers per hour (20 mph) is required.
By indicating that the craft can be made steerable by using a rudder, movable jet, mechanized fin or other mechanical steering apparatus, the Von-Smagala-Romanov disclosure shows that he did not consider the location of the engine as being a factor in turning, especially in airborne turning. The Von-Smagala-Romanov reference teaches in lines 14-16 of column 6, that engine is mounted in a cavity that is located intermediate of the craft""s front and rear ends. This central engine location causes the craft rotational moment of inertia around vertical axis that passes through rider center of gravity to be excessively high, thus effectively rendering the craft uncontrollable during the time the craft is airborne. The effect of engine central position on the rotational moment of inertia of a craft is subsequently explained in detail.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,529 to Robert E. Montgomery discloses a motorized water ski. The motorized water ski is steerable by rider changing the position of his body in relation to other parts of the board. The water ski has a motor disposed within the hull. In lines 18-19 of column 21, Montgomery teaches that the water ski has the motor mounted forward of the deck, and hence forward of the rider standing on deck. This is similar to the invention disclosed in the Von-Smagala-Romanov reference. By indicating that the intention of his invention is to have the motor mounted forward of the deck, which supports a standing rider, the Montgomery reference shows the rotational moment of inertia of the craft was not considered and the influence of engine location on minimizing this rotational moment of inertia as a factor in turning the craft, especially in airborne turning, was not appreciated.
The following example illustrates how critical engine position is in terms of the amount of moment (also known as torque) that a rider needs to exert to rotate a motorized board when airborne. The moment of rotational inertia of a compact size 17.7 kg (39 lb.) engine alone, around vertical axis that passes through the center of gravity of rider (the case in airborne turning), is approximately 10.3 kg*sq-m (243.5 lb*sq-ft) for the Montgomery craft. This high moment of rotational inertia renders this craft unsuitable for airborne maneuvering. The moment of inertia of engine around the same axis, when the same engine is moved from position in front of deck to below deck directly under center of gravity of rider, is only 0.16 kg*sq-m (3.8 lb*sq-ft), which is 63 times lower than that of the rotational moment of inertia of engine in the Montgomery craft. The moment required to rotate an object in a given time is directly proportional to the moment of inertia of the object. Therefore, one can appreciate that the moment a rider has to produce to rotate just engine (in a given time) is 63 times lower when engine is moved from the location in front of deck (in the Montgomery craft) to location directly below center of gravity of rider. Even a very small distance between the center of gravity of the heaviest component of a motorized water ski, engine, and the vertical axis that passes through the rider center of gravity will cause a large increase in the moment required to rotate the craft, versus when the center of gravity of engine coincides with the vertical axis that passes through the rider center of gravity. The Montgomery board, by its shear power of engine, will allow rider to jump above water surface, but because of the requirement for such a high moment to rotate his board, after it loses contact with water the rider also loses most of the control over the craft.
Yet another disadvantage of the Montgomery craft is that the minimum length of the craft is limited to approximately 2.28 m (7.5 feet). For a motorized board suitable for jumping, a short length is desirable, preferably between 1.8 and 2.4 m (6 and 8 feet). If the Montgomery craft is shorter than 2.28 m (7.5 feet), the engine has to be positioned very close to the front of the craft so as to leave enough space on the deck for a rider. The vertical thickness of the frontal portion of the board is always substantially less than the central and rear portions. Additionally, the bottom of the frontal portion raises up as it approaches the bow. Positioning of engine in the frontal portion will raise the engine in the Montgomery craft and cause the engine to protrude high above the deck level, thus increase the overall height of the board. This creates package and transportation problems, and makes the look of the board very unappealing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,262,413 to J. S. Douglas discloses a motorized surfboard. As Douglas teaches in lines 11-15 of column 1, this motorized surfboard maintains appearance and functional characteristics of the classical surfboard and is designed to propel a surfer out to the breakers so as to allow him traditional surfing upon arrival at the breakers. Accordingly, the Douglas motorized surfboard is a very low power surfboard that neither requires nor is it capable of achieving planing speeds needed for jumping above water. Like in the Von-Smagala-Romanov craft, the point of water ingestion into the jet pump is positioned centrally. Therefore, it would be above water level at planing speed. In lines 11-13 of column 3, the reference teaches that speed of the water jet reaches only several knots, thus the maximum speed of his motorized surfboard is also only several knots. The minimum speed required for effective jumping is 32 kilometers per hour (20 mph). It is not possible to make the Douglas craft achieve planing speeds because the motorized surfboard of Douglas cannot incorporate a water pump with inlet positioned close to the rear of the board. This is because the exit of the engine exhaust in Douglas craft is below bottom and forward of the rear portion of craft. As Douglas teaches in lines 3-5 of column 11, exhaust tube is ported through the aft surface of the body hull. Any water pump inlet positioned near the exhaust exit would ingest exhaust fumes resulting in total loss or large reduction of propelling force. Therefore, the only possible place for water pump intake is in the central or front portion of the Douglas craft, which as explained before is not suitable for planing speeds.
As Douglas teaches in lines 10-15 of column 4, the engine is positioned in the midportion of the hull body, between forward and aft compartments. As taught by Douglas in line 15 of column 1, the length of his craft is of classical surfboard length, which is (not mentioned by Douglas) 2.74 to 3.35 m (9 to 11 feet). Therefore, for this craft length, like in the Von-Smagala-Romanov and in the Montgomery crafts, this positions engine is substantially in front of a rider standing on deck, resulting in a very high moment of rotational inertia of the craft around vertical axis that passes through the center of gravity of rider. Douglas shows that he did not consider the location of the engine as being a factor in turning, especially in airborne turning. Furthermore, careful study of Douglas device indicates that it is a low speed craft incapable of becoming airborne neither by rocking it by rider nor by using a wave or wake as a ramp for jump.
In a French Pat. No. 2,617,793, J. F. Trotet depicts an engine, which is mounted below the forward foot of the rider for one of the two positions that his craft can be ridden. Both feet of the rider are substantially behind the engine in the second riding position. Apart from the fact that the center of gravity of engine is still in front of the center of gravity of rider, the Trotet invention pertains to a different watercraft, with very different riding characteristics that is steered by a rudder and handle which makes it a different category watercraft. The Trotet design is a displacement type craft, which can never achieve high planing speeds necessary for jumping above water, without a very large and extremely powerful engine (over 50 hp), not feasible for packaging in this type of a craft. The large submerged area, also known as a wetted surface, requires the craft to be steered by active means like a rudder shown in the patent. For those reasons our invention is different and does not apply to the type of craft described by Trotet.
Any effect of placement of engine on the craft rotational moment of inertia around the vertical axes that passes through rider center of gravity is an incidental element in the prior art and not essential to the ease of airborne maneuverability of the prior art devices.
A wakeboard assembly transports a rider across a body of water. The rider defines a rider center of gravity. The wakeboard assembly includes a hull that extends between a stem and a stern. The hull defines an interior compartment and a deck for receiving the rider thereon during operation of said wakeboard assembly. An engine is mounted to the hull within the interior compartment. The engine is mounted to the hull at a position between the stem and the stern below the deck. The engine is mounted such that the engine extends through the center of gravity of the rider.
It is a fundamental object of this invention to provide a self propelled, steered by body balance, board type watercraft that enables a rider to perform jumps above water surface, both on flat water and on waves, similar to those attributed to wakeboarding, sailboarding, and kiteboarding without the need for a towing boat, sail or a kite.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a motorized wakeboard with low rotational moment of inertia around the vertical axis that passes through rider center of gravity so as to enable rider to control an airborne craft with a small effort, feasible for an average size and strength person.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a craft which retains its riding characteristics and still provides a large flat deck area to support a rider, regardless of the craft length, especially a short length.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a self propelled board type watercraft with a generally flat deck throughout its length, therefore a craft that is visually appealing.
Our years of experimenting each that in order to be able to control any motorized board while airborne, the rotational moments of inertia of a motorized board around (a) the vertical axis that passes through rider center of gravity, and (b) around the horizontal axis that passes through the board and is equally distant from the rider feet, must be very small. The low rotational moment of inertia of a craft around the vertical axis that passes through rider center of gravity, enables rider to easily rotate an airborne motorized wakeboard, by his feet, clockwise and counterclockwise around the vertical axis that passes through rider center of gravity, or to easily stop such rotation. One can easily appreciate how minimizing of rotational moment of inertia benefits the rider, when one looks at a person spinning on a rotating chair with simultaneous extending and then bringing both hands close to their chest. With hands close to the chest the moment of inertia is smaller, thus allowing the person to spin faster. Any action causes a reaction. When the rider spins a motorized wakeboard in one direction, the rider""s body will spin in the opposite direction. The smaller the rotational moment of inertia of the motorized wakeboard the smaller angle a rider will spin in the opposite direction than the board spinning direction and the less effort a rider has to exert to spin the motorized wakeboard. By coinciding the center of gravity of engine with a vertical axes that passes through the center of gravity of the rider, the motorized wakeboard of the present invention, achieved low moment of rotational inertia, therefore achieved extreme ease of maneuverability during the times when rider jumps with the board above the surface of water.
Low rotational moment of inertia also allows rider to easily move the stem (also known as nose or bow) of the motorized wakeboard up and down (also known as rocking) or to keep steady any desired angle of attack of the motorized wakeboard, both during airborne ascending and descending. The moving of stem up and down is a form of rotation about a horizontal axis that passes through a board perpendicular to the board longitudinal axis equally distant from rider""s feet. Because moving a stem up and down is a form of rotation, therefore the low rotational moment of inertia around this axis has a detrimental effect on the amount of effort a rider has to exert in order to move a stem up and down while airborne. By coinciding the center of gravity of the heaviest component of a motorized wakeboard, an engine, with the above horizontal axis, the rotational moment of inertia of a motorized wakeboard around this axis is minimized. This engine placement makes rocking of an airborne motorized wakeboard possible even if it is equipped with a heavy, over 13.6 kg (30 lb.) engine.
Because during airborne operation, rider controls a craft with his feet, the placement of engine in our motorized wakeboard is relative to the rider position as rider operates a craft, and is positioned directly below rider. The position of rider, as rider operates a craft is also referred to as the preferred rider position. Most types of boards include foot straps, that are mounted in such locations that they retain rider feet precisely in this preferred rider position. The preferred rider position is dependent on the length of a motorized wakeboard. For long motorized wakeboards, 2.74 to 3.35 m (9 to 11 feet) in length, the most preferred rider position is located approximately 30 to 40% of the board length, measured from the board rear towards the board center. The shorter the motorized wakeboard the closer to the board center the preferred rider position is. For a motorized wakeboard of 1.52 m (5 feet) in length, the preferred rider position is directly above the board center. None of the prior art locates engine center of gravity directly below rider""s center of gravity, as rider operates a motorized board, so as to minimize the motorized board rotational moment of inertia around (a) horizontal axis that passes through motorized board the same distance from either of rider""s foot, and (b) around vertical axis that passes through the center of gravity of rider, so as to enable rider control of a board while airborne.
At the same time, this placement of engine greatly improved riding characteristics of the motorized wakeboard when operated on water, allowing for tighter turns (less than 3 meters radius).
The effect of placement of engine on the craft rotational moment of inertia around the vertical axes that passes through rider center of gravity is an incidental element in the prior art and not essential to the ease of airborne maneuverability of the prior art devices. As new sporting goods entered the market and people experienced the excitement of their unique abilities, they became experts in using them and expect to find the same ability in the next generation products. For those who experienced snowboarding, surfing and wakeboarding, a motorized board that offers only the experience of surfing is no longer challenging or very appealing.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a self propelled board type watercraft that can operate with agility on a surface of water, while enabling rider to perform controlled airborne maneuvers, with the ability to propel itself above water surface.
Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.